


Stairway to Heaven

by nocturnias



Series: Below and Above [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Eurus ships it, F/M, Fix-It, Friendship/Love, Gen, Headcanon, Love Confessions, Post TFP, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2018-09-23 10:01:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9650816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturnias/pseuds/nocturnias
Summary: After the events of The Final Problem, Eurus asks to meet Molly Hooper.





	1. Strange Relationships

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MizJoely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizJoely/gifts).



> This story takes place about a month after TFP, before the montages. The premise headcanons are that Eurus is now functioning again, and Sherlock and Molly are still friends but their friendship is strained.

“So what next?” Sherlock asked Eurus as they lowered their violins. A month after her return, she was talking again. She never says she’s happy to see him, but she doesn’t have to, if she even can. He knows it. 

"You say I don’t understand Bach. Enlighten me?” he asked with a faint smile.

"I want to meet Molly Hooper,” Eurus said.

Sherlock damn near dropped his violin.

“Surely you’ve already met her in an impressive disguise,” he said faintly.

“No. I’ve never gone near her.”

She’s not lying; he knows it. When she is Eurus, she never lies. Not now.

He cleared his throat. “I’m certain that Molly will--”

"--She’ll meet me,” Eurus interrupted. “She’ll want to meet me.”

"How do you know?” 

He understood his sister’s utter brilliance all too well. But this was one that wasn’t even on the same continent for him.

“Because we’re the same,” Eurus said simply.

Sherlock forced his hands not to clench. ‘Molly is nothing like you,“ he said, unable to entirely keep the anger from his voice.

“No? Then perhaps you don’t know her as well as you think,” Eurus told him. 

“Tell me one way. One way Molly Hooper is anything like you, and I’ll ask her if she’ll come to Sherrinford,” Sherlock retorted.

Eurus smiled. He took no comfort in it.

“We both love you, and our love has damaged us.”

Hours later, Sherlock knocked on Molly’s door.

As he waited for Molly to open the door, his mind took him back to those last few minutes with Eurus…

Sherlock stared at her. He felt…what? Dismay? Regret? Guilt?

Her smile faded. “I told you, so many little emotions,” she said without malice. “You’ve awakened ones in me I’d long forgotten. So much to process. It helps occupy my time, if nothing else.”

“I wanted to bring you home,” Sherlock said, his voice hollow in his ears. “I still do.”

"Bring home a psychopathic murderer with only the barest understanding of healthy emotions?” she asked. “We both know you can’t, Sherlock. I told you that night.”

This time her smile was sad, but whether it was for him or herself, or both, he couldn’t say.

“It’s too late for me,” she said. “Too late for me to live anything resembling a life. There may never have been a chance at all. But it’s not too late for you. Now dry your eyes and bring Molly Hooper here.”

Sherlock blinked. He hadn’t even realized that he had cried. He wiped his cheeks with the backs of two fingers, nodded, and left without thinking to ask her why she wanted to meet Molly in the first place.

Molly opened the door. He was dismayed by what he saw. To anyone else, there would’ve been no real difference. But he knew her. 

Gray track suit. Ponytail holder uneven. A shade paler than normal. Eyes…haunted. 

He disliked using that word. But it was true. 

He’d seen her, of course, as soon as he could after…after. She’d understood. She’d forgiven him. She thanked him for saving her. And all the words he’d wanted to say, really wanted to say from his newly unearthed heart, had died in his throat. 

Because at the end of it, he was afraid. Afraid to be so raw again so soon. Afraid to hear her accuse him of lying and destroying their friendship forever. 

Sherlock Holmes, who stared death in the face of a weekly basis, was terrified of Molly Hooper. And he hated himself for it.

“Sherlock,” Molly said, her tone more of an acknowledgement than a welcome. “What brings you here? Surely you have a case to solve, an eyeball to cook in the microwave.”

He winced. Forgiven, yes. But her wounds were as raw as his. She’d been avoiding him. He deserved it.

“I had to see you,” he said.

She studied him, eyes sharper than her scalpels. This was what it felt like when he deduced others. No wonder he had so few friends. 

"Why?” she asked.

"I have a message. I…please, Molly, may I come inside?”

Perhaps it was the raw note of desperation in his voice that did it,.or the way he shuffled his feet. He never shuffled his feet. Either way, Molly nodded and stepped aside so he could enter.

 

He hadn't been here since that day. The day he'd apologized, ripped the cameras out with remarkably restrained violence. The day the words had choked in his throat and he'd not been able to say the four words he'd wanted so desperately to say.

Molly, I meant it.

And there, in the kitchen, the place where everything had been torn apart...

It's true, Sherlock. It's always been true.

"Sherlock?"

He jerked his head up. Molly was watching him, dark eyes concerned even as they reflected her personal Hell.

"Sorry," he said, noting detachedly how rough his voice was. "Lot on my mind."

She nodded. "You said you have a message?" she prompted.

"Yes. It's from Eurus. She wants to meet you."

He'd been looking at the floor, but now he lifted his gaze, his eyes staring straight into Molly's....

He couldn't deduce her.

For the life of him, Sherlock Holmes had no idea what was going through her head.

"You're under no obligation to," he said hastily. "Of course you're not. None at all. You absolutely do not have to do it. She can't harm you anymore, she can't harm anyone. And I completely understand if you say no, you've every right to, and--"

He stopped, tilted his head. "Am I babbling?"

Molly nodded with a small smile.

"Hmm. So that's what it's like."

Now Molly actually laughed. "You babble all the time, Sherlock. It's just usually related to a case."

He looked affronted. "I certainly do not."

"Mm-hmm. Anyways, it's fine. I'll go with you to meet her."

"You will?" he said in surprise.

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked, puzzled. After all that his sister had done, he'd thought that the family would be the only other ones willing to see her.

"If she wants to see me, she has something to say to me. I want to know what it is. And I have something to say to her."

Sherlock felt that he'd entered some bizarre other universe. "You do?"

Molly nodded.

"Well. All right, then. I know you're off tomorrow, would that be convenient for you?" he asked.

"Tomorrow is fine."

"Good," Sherlock said. "I'll pick you up at 10 a.m., if that's all right?"

"Yes," Molly replied.

After he made his goodbyes and left, Sherlock felt as if they'd just made a date. A very, very, odd date.


	2. So Tell Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Molly and Eurus come face to face, each with a question that changes everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm sorry it's been 7 months to write this! However, it will be finished. Promise. Meanwhile, hope you enjoy this short, but important thick of the plot.
> 
> For MJ

Everything was as it always was, gray and silent. The low hum of machinery mingled with the faint flow of central air, creating a dull chill that always seemed to make something inside him want to shiver. He suppressed it, as he always did. He had to be both vulnerable yet in complete control when he visited Eurus.

One thing he could not control, however, was his awareness of Molly. Or rather, his confusion about it. Normally he could read Molly as well as any of his other friends. It wasn't something he tried to do; not anymore. It was the same way that he couldn't stop observing everything else in the world.

But he'd made mistakes. Hard ones. Fatal ones. They served to remind him he was not invincibly clever. Especially after Mary's death. One of the most amazing people he had ever known, dead because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. Funny how a thing like that was what it took for someone like him to learn.

And he had learned, he had. But here, now, he could not read Molly for the life of him. When his quick glance had yielded nothing, he'd actually studied her, certain that it was out of respect for her privacy that he couldn't make any deductions.

He was wrong. Right now, for all intents and purposes, Molly Hooper might as well have been carved from stone from another planet. There was nothing in her face that gave her thoughts away. Nothing, no twitch of an eye or jerk of her mouth. No shrinking back, no dilated pupils or elevated blood pressure.

Molly was an enigma to him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

All attempts at deductions ceased when they arrived at Eurus' door. The guards were the same way they always were, that curious combination of fear and indifference. At least that hadn't changed. But why were they here? Why did Eurus want to see Molly? And more importantly, why did Molly not seem afraid? Most people would have been terrified that a psychopathic super genius would want to see them. Not only did Molly not seem terrified, or shocked, she said she had something to ask said psychopath.

He hated not knowing things.

Eurus stood waiting, facing the glass. She did not have her violin. Her arms were at her sides, fists unclenched. Sherlock realized she was trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. He searched her face, and found curiosity mingled with satisfaction. He didn't sense any malice from her, no desire to distort Molly's mind the way she had so many others.

"Hello, Molly," Eurus said, and Sherlock almost jumped at the tone of her voice.

Molly walked toward her.

"Molly," Sherlock said, doing his best not to sound nervous.

"It's all right," Molly said. 

She stopped 20 feet away. "Hello, Eurus," she replied.

Who the hell (besides him) walked up to someone who could have killed them and said hello like that? Apparently, Molly Hooper. How could they know something he didn't? But then, they both had, hadn't they? Known for years, while he'd smugly thought there was nothing he wasn't aware of. 

Shows what you know, doesn't it? Mind Palace Mary asked wryly.

Not now, Mary, Sherlock silently replied.

"You must be wondering why I asked Sherlock to bring you here," Eurus said, her tone almost conversational. She'd rehearsed this.

"I am," Molly replied. "But I have a question for you first."

Eurus slightly raised her eyebrows. For her, that meant genuine surprise. "Oh?"

"Yes. Why didn't you kill me?"

Eurus blinked. Clearly whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that.

"Because you're smart, smarter than anyone alive, probably," Molly continued. "You could have killed me a thousand ways, if you'd wanted. So why didn't you?"

Eurus almost smiled. "For the same reason I never killed Sherlock or Mycroft," she replied.

Molly frowned. "But...I don't mean anything to you, like they do."

Eurus looked at Molly with what Sherlock thought was as much genuine affection as she was capable of. 

"But you do."

Before Molly could reply, Eurus turned to Sherlock. "Sherlock. I asked you to bring Molly here because I want to know."

"Know what?" Sherlock asked, baffled.

The almost-smile touched Eurus' lips again. "Why haven't you ever told Molly Hooper that you love her?"


	3. I Need To Know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is short, but it's been so long since I updated I wanted to get this out now. The final chapter will be much longer!

“What... what do you mean?” Molly asked. She could hear her voice rising with every word she spoke, but she couldn’t help it. This was too much. “What do you mean, why hasn’t Sherlock ever told me he loves me!”

“Because he does, of course,” Eurus said. “Surely you know that, Molly.”

Molly shook her head. “No. No. You’re wrong. You may be one of the greatest geniuses the world has ever known, but you’re wrong! Sherlock, tell her! Tell her she’s wrong!”

By now, her voice was a screech, bordering on sheer panic. She couldn’t handle this, not after the phone call and his behavior since, and now this…

She turned to Sherlock, brown eyes shining with unshed tears, beseeching him. “Make her stop. Tell her she’s wrong.”

Sherlock returned her gaze, something akin to sadness in his eyes. Regret? Sympathy? Now he was about to speak, and this would all be over….he would tell her that…

“She’s not wrong, Molly” Sherlock said softly.

“What?” Molly whispered.

“She’s not wrong,” Sherlock said, his voice laced with pain. This was never how he wanted her to know, and his sister was never how he wanted to figure it out. However, it was done. And he wasn’t going to go through any more games.

“I do love you, Molly Hooper.”

Molly backed away from him, shaking her head. "No. No, you don't. This is another game, another one of your tricks!" she shouted, pointing at Eurus.

"It's not a game, Molly," Eurus said. "He's telling the truth."

"It's not a trick!" Sherlock shouted, turning to Eurus in frustration. "Why didn't you let me tell her when I was ready?"

"When would that have been, during the zombie apocalypse?" Eurus asked.

"No, I was- hang on. _Is_ there going to be a zombie apocalypse?"

Eurus' mouth twitched. "Not for another 27 years."

"See? I had plenty of time!"

"Stop it!" Molly shouted. "I'm not a pawn in your fucking mind games!"

"And I'm telling you this isn't a game!" Sherlock shouted again. "Eurus isn't forcing me to say this, I'm telling you the truth, and I love you!"

Molly went very still. 

It wasn't supposed to go like this, Molly thought. It was supposed to happen in the morgue, the lab, 221B, her flat... There was supposed to be intense gazes and glistening eyes...

Oh, for shit's sake. Did _anything_ go as it was supposed to where Sherlock was concerned?

 _Not really,_ she answered herself, and fought an insane urge to giggle. 

Sherlock slowly closed the gap between them. His eyes met hers. "Ever since what happened here before, I've been trying to process how I feel. Once I did...I wanted to tell you. I should have. But I didn't know how."

"Sherlock..." Molly whispered.

"I've brought a lot pain into your life, Molly. I've no doubt that you would have been better off without me. Yet you stayed. No matter what I did or how angry you got or how much it hurt you, you stayed."

His eyes glimmered with unshed tears. _Well, there's **part** of how I imagined it,_ she thought in a daze. 

"This wasn't the way I wanted to tell you," he continued, giving Eurus a withering glare. She only smiled. "But now that you know...yes, I do love you. I know I said it before, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything you've been through because of me."

He slowly reached out and took her hands in his. "I'm still learning. I'm going to make mistakes. I'll need your patience more than ever. But...I'd very much like to be with you, Molly Hooper." He paused, looking down, seeming uncertain. Molly would've sworn he bit his lip before he met her gaze again. "If you'll have me."

Molly blinked and choked out a laugh. "If I'll...come here, you massive idiot," she said. She grabbed his lapels, pulled him down and herself up, and kissed him.

Sod how it was supposed to go.


End file.
